1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for oral administration containing phytic acid or its salts, which is especially used for the treatment of hyperlipemia, obesity and obesity-related diseases.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
Hyperlipemia refers to diseases caused by abnormal increases in one or more of serum lipids, viz., cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipid and free fatty acids and accompanied by various disorders.
Pathologies are generally broken down into Type IV induced by the cumulation of endogenous triglyceride, Type I induced by the cumulation of exogenous triglyceride, combined Type V thereof and the like.
Heretofore, various pharmaceutical compounds have been known for treating hyperlipemia. For instance, preparations based on clofibrate, dextran sulfate, nicotinic acid and the like have been known for Type IV hyperlipemia and hormone preparations such as progesterone and nicotic acid for Type V. However, although it has been reported that some amylase inhibitors are effective for Type I, no substantially effective pharmaceutical compounds have been reported at all.
As the remedies for obesity, on the other hand, there have known one type of drugs based on hormones, amino acids, inorganic substances, rutin and vitamins which are administrated directly to a living body to serve to promote the metabolism and decomposition of fats and another type of pharmaceutical compounds based on lactobacillus which serves to prevent in-vivo propagation of harmful bacteria, resulting in the intestinal absorption of nutrients such as amino acids and inorganic substances being promoted and intestinal disorders and metabolism being improved.
In expectation of an effect on restricted diets, treatments have been carried out with undigestible mannans or diet fibers, etc. which induce a feeling of fullness. However, since pharmaceutics having a decisive remedial effect have been found to tend to be strongly poisonous, there is still a demand for pharmaceutics administrable with high safety and great remedial effects.
Phytic acid is a compound which has been known for long and reported to promote the cultivation of lactobacillus (Japanese Patent Publication No. 39-72686) and stabilize vitamin C. The detoxication of bacteria by phytic acid has already been found by the present inventors (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-140385).
Phytic acids widely appear in plants as calcium and magnesium salts, sometimes a potassium salt. For instance, rice bran contains as high as 9.5 to 14.5% of phytic acid, and provides a starting material for commercial phytic acid and myoinositol deriving therefrom.
Phytic acid and its salt have been used in wide applications; in pharmaceutical applications, calcium phytate has been used as a calcium absorbefacient, rice bran itselt and sodium phytate as a preventive for calcium calculus, and potassium phytate for the treatment of hyper-calcemia and hyper-calciuria of sarcoidosis patients. They have also been utilized in various other fields as fermentative aids for brewing sake and wine, metal removers making use of the chelating action of phytic acid, antioxidants in the presence of iron and calcium ions and anticorrosives for metals.
However, it has not been reported that phytic acid and its salts may be effective as a preventive and remedy for hyperlipemia, esp., arteriosclerosis.